


Come What May

by RonnieBirdyy



Category: Batman (Comics), Under the Red Hood, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd-centric, i'm really good at writing angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 14:49:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20244613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonnieBirdyy/pseuds/RonnieBirdyy
Summary: When Jason gets sent to the past, he comes face to face with his younger self and family, among various other heroes and people he once knew as friends.





	Come What May

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic pulled my my FF.net account. This takes place between season 1 and 2 where Jason is still alive. Jason became Robin at 13 and died at 15 and was resurrected by Ra’s, and it’s five years between the seasons so Jason, as Red Hood is 17. He went back 2 years before his death. So no one gets confused, older Jason will simply be referred to as either Jason or Red Hood, younger Jason will be referred to as Robin, or Jaybird by Dick.
> 
> Please enjoy and leave feedback if you have any! :D
> 
> *EDIT: Thank you for 1,000 hits!!! I'm so happy 🥺💜

_‘Shit shit shit shit shit’_ That’s all Jason thought as he was flung through the brightly lit portal that would lead to god knows where. And after he and Bruce had finally come to terms with him being back from the dead and all. When the light faded, Jason found himself in the lounge area of Mt. Justice. _‘But Mt. Justice was demolished by Kaldur when he infiltrated the Light...so how?’_ Jason thought to himself. Then he turned around and was surprised to be met with the glaring eyes of Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Black Canary, Nightwing, and the junior justice league. He was about to speak up when a glint from the corner caught his eye. He turned slightly to see Robin take out a batarang. ‘Oh great, the Replacement. Wait no. It’s not him. Then who?’_ Jason took a couple steps back then it hit him. _‘Okay, now I’m really confused. What the fuck happened? How can I be here looking at myself!?...well my younger self?’_ He figured he was probably sent into the past when he went through the portal and that he’d tell the people getting ready to attack him, but before he could Batman’s voice sounded from the other side of the room._

_“Who are you and how did you get in here without us knowing?” he growled. Nightwing also put in his two sense before Jason could speak up._

_“That red hood..are you with the Joker?” he said, demanding rather than questioning. Jason was at a loss. He knew that no matter what he said, they’d never believe him. After a couple seconds he decided he didn’t have a choice started to take off his helmet. _’Ugh...this is breaking the number one bat rule but since when have I ever cared for things like that? I just hope Alfred doesn’t catch wind of this.’__

_“I’m not with the Joker, Dick.” he said, having taken off the helmet completely, revealing his red domino mask. Batman and Nightwing stared at him incredulously. He knew it was because he called Dick by his name and also because of the white strand of hair in his bangs._

_“How did you?...and that’s..” Nightwing’s sentence trailed off and was continued by Batman._

_“Something you get when revived in the Lazarus Pit, yeah.” he said sternly. His eyes narrowed on Jason’s form and even though he had a mask on, Jason could tell Bruce was close to figuring out who he was._

_“Wait. ‘Pit’ as in Ra’s al Ghul’s pit?” Flash asked no one in particular while staring at Jason._

_“Back to the question at hand though. Who are you and how did you get in here without us knowing?” Superman questioned while pushing past Flash to stand in front next to Batman and Nightwing. Jason hesitated for a moment then took off his mask and stared at Bruce and Dick._

_“My name is Jason Todd, formerly the second Robin, currently the Red Hood and I’m from the future.” he said, which gained quite a few gasps and stunned faces from his audience of heroes._

_“What?!” a shrill cry broke out off to Jason’s side. He and the other occupants in the room spun around to see his younger self with an unreadable expression. “You’re me? Why are you wearing that red hood? Are you with the Joker? And if-” his voice got caught in his throat, “if what they said about the Lazarus Pit is true and that white strand….you died. I’m going to die?” Jason watched as his younger self almost broke down at this new revelation. Dick quickly ran and embraced his younger brother’s shaking form._

_“No Jaybird, we won’t let you die, I promise.”_

_Jason scoffed and Nightwing glared at him._

_“What?” he asked, slightly annoyed._

_“Nothing,” Jason started, shoving his hands in his pockets, “just that you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.” Nightwing continued to stare at him._

_“So you’re not with the Joker?” Flash asked._

_“No Barry, I’m not.” Jason answered._

_“H-how do you know my name?” Flash stuttered and Jason just rolled his eyes._

_“I’m a bat remember? Son of the world’s greatest detective?” he replied, his voice full of sarcasm._

_“If you are who you say you are, then you wouldn’t mind letting us look at your memories.” Superman asked, glaring at Jason._

_“Sure, but I’ll warn you, you may not like what you see.” This made a couple people shift uncomfortably and Robin shared glances at his team._

_“What do you mean by that?” Beast Boy demanded. Jason sighed and turned to face him. His face was devoid of all emotion._

_“I’m guessing the bat hasn’t allowed mini me to tell you but, I didn’t grow up in an exotic circus like Dikiebird, or showered in wealth like Bruce. I was a gutter rat. Grew up in Crime Alley with a drug addicted stepmother and deadbeat father.” he finished, and the shocked faces of the young justice team were what stood in front of him. Ever so slightly, they turned around to look at Robin who suddenly found great interest with his utility belt and had started picking at it half-mindedly. The justice league members present were silent, not knowing what to say, while Bruce and Dick simply had a hurt look in their eyes._

_After a while, Superman spoke up. “Very well, J’onn?” Superman gestured for the Martian to come forward. He nodded and made his way toward Jason._

_“Would you mind if I showed your memories to the others as well via telepathy?” the Martian asked._

_“Go ahead.” J’onn nodded once again and raised one hand to his head to establish the connection, and the other to Jason’s temple._

_“Alright, the connection has been made.” J’onn said and Jason’s body fell limp and would have hit the ground had Bruce not caught him. He looked up at J’onn who merely shook his head. “He is alright, just in trance-like sleep. He won’t wake up until we break the connection.”_

_As Bruce picked up his son’s body and carried him bridal-style to a couch nearby, he noticed how young he looked. Obviously not as young as his time’s Jason, but still, much too young to have been killed and brought back. He went to move the white strand of bangs out of Jason’s eyes but stopped when images flitted through his mind._

_By this time everyone had taken a seat wherever they could find one seeing as how this might take a while. The images started out blurry and of mixed colors that were indistinguishable, but gradually they came into focus. Inside everyone’s minds, they could see a young boy with dark hair racing through the alley ways of Gotham. While connected to Jason, everyone could see what what he saw through his eyes as well as hear his thoughts. This Jason from the memory sounded to be just a year or two younger than theirs. He panted heavily and hid behind one of the alley dumpsters as a small group of men ran right past him shouting indecencies._

_“Come back here you fuckin’ brat!! I swear to god you’re just as bad as that dead beat dad of yours!” one of the men yelled. Robin’s team glanced at him sheepishly. They didn’t really know all that much about their little bird and now they were starting to wonder if it was really just because of bat protocol. Memory Jason snickered once the men had gotten far enough away and ducked out from behind the dumpster. He stared at the object in his hand and grinned. He took one last look in the direction of the angry mob and sprinted in the opposite direction._

__‘Those asshats didn’t know what hit’em.’_ memory Jason thought as he once again glanced at the content of the small paper bag he held for dear life. Inside was a couple apples and a wad of cash. Jason arrived at a run down apartment complex and dashed up the stairs, bolting through the door to his _home_._

_“Mom! Mom, I'm back! I brought some apples too.” he said and searched the house for his step-mother. When he didn't find her he looked outside because that's where she normally went after getting her fix. Jason rounded the corner of the building only to find his step-mother slumped against the wall, pale, and still. “Mom? Mom!?” he yelled, running towards the motionless figure. He checked for a pulse and found none. He ran back inside to call 911 and met his father at the doorway._

_“What are ya runnin’ your mouth for you brat? I was tryin’ ta sleep.” his father said gruffly as he stroked the back of his head. Jason’s eyes hardened as he stared down his dad._

_“Can it old man, mom isn't breathing! She needs hel-” Jason’s sentence was cut short by a slap to the face. His small body stumbled back and he tripped, landing harshly on the ground._

_“Don't you dare talk to me like that you fuckin’ little shit! I'm the reason you're even here in the first place. Without me, you’d have been dead a long time ago.” the man spat out._

_Jason rubbed his sore cheek as he glared daggers at his sorry excuse for a father. _‘Mother fuck! That shit stings!’_ The team winced, not used to hearing Robin curse, or actually Jason, curse. “Mom isn't breathing…..she needs help…...please..” he said a little more quietly._

_“Heh, serves that whore right. Always taking my extra cash to buy what those damn druggies sell by the corners.” with that, the man turned and went back into the small apartment, stumbling as he chugged a bottle of beer. Jason still sat on the ground. Minutes had passed and he knew it was too late for his mom now. That night, Jason watched as an ambulance came onto his street as he climbed out of his window. No doubt to retrieve his mother's corpse. _‘Good riddance.’_ Jason thought as he took one last glance at the place he had called home._

_Jason had a backpack filled with the bear necessities. A couple changes of clothes, a few bottles of water, a toothbrush and toothpaste, some food, and the wad of cash he had stolen from those asshats. Jason lived off the streets for a while, occasionally stealing from lowlifes now and then. One night, he got word that his old man had kicked the bucket at the hands of two-face. It didn't bother him._

__‘It should bother me though..’_ he thought to himself. _‘but then again, he was a piece of crap and probably deserved it.’_ he chuckled hollowly. And slid down against the alley wall. _‘but now I'm all alone.’_ Jason sniffed and lifted a hand to his cheek when he felt something wet trickle down. He was crying. Jason was crying. The team and league members felt for Jason at this point. No kid should have to go through that. Jason’s memories became jumbles mixes again and didn’t focus until it showed a scene familiar to Batman. _

_The batmobile was parked in the middle of Crime Alley as Jason walked up to it cautiously. “No way...no fuckin’ way. It's the Bat’s freaking car!” he ran a hand along the side of the exterior and felt the smooth metal on his fingertips. “I wonder how much these tires will sell down at the shop..” Jason said as he swung his duffle bag off his shoulder and opened it, revealing various tools and supplies. He got to work, taking the tires of with unnatural ease. It wasn't until he got to the fourth tire that he felt a presence behind him and heard someone clear their throat._

_“What do you think you’re doing?” a gruff voice asked from behind Jason. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw it was the Batman himself._

_“Shit….um...I was fixing your tires….they were uh, a little flat?” Jason replied, sounding unsure of his excuse._

_“You were fixing them, by removing them?” Batman questioned. Jason bit his lip and his eyes darted everywhere but the Bat’s stony face._

_“Uh, yeah?” he said, knowing that he was in for the punishment of his life. He was knocked out of his thoughts by a hand clamping down on his shoulder. He flinched and looked up to see Batman staring at him, his face a little softer, but still composed. To Jason’s embarrassment, his stomach chose that exact moment to let him know that he hadn't eaten anything that whole day. For a good minute the two stood staring at each other until the older man broke their silence._

_“What's your name, son?” he asked him._

_“Todd, Jason Todd.” Jason said, doing his best James Bond impression. To his astonishment, the Batman let out a small, barely audible chuckle._

_“Alright Jason, how would you like to get a burger?” Jason smiled in reply._

_Superman couldn’t help but smile and turn to his dark clad friend as the memory faded into abstract colors and shapes once again. Bruce grumbled something about not speaking of this to anyone while Robin blushed a little next to his team mates who kept telling him how cute his tough guy attitude was._

_The next memories shown were of Jason meeting Dick and Alfred and taking up the Robin mantle, eventually joining the team as Robin II and Dick rejoining as Nightwing._

_After that, however, was unexplored territory. The team, Robin, and the league members watched as an older Jason used the batcomputer to track down the whereabouts of his birth mother, Sheila. He tracked her down in Ethiopia and rushed to meet her. But it was a trap...the Joker had used Jason’s mother as bait to lure him into a trap. The Joker wanted to take what was dearest away from the Bat and that just happened to be Jason. He tied Jason up and beat him repeatedly with a crowbar._

_“What hurts more? A? Or B? Forehand? Or backhand?” the Joker said maniacally. They watched as the boy curled in on himself as best he could to try and shield himself from the repeated impact of metal against skin. All the while Sheila sat in the corner and did nothing to help her son._

__‘Please Bruce, please save me. It hurts, it hurts, please…’_ Bruce's heart wrenched as he heard Jason’s thoughts. The boy never let the Joker have the satisfaction of hearing him beg, but on the inside, he was desperate for salvation._

_After what felt like an eternity to Jason, the Joker finished his fun and prepared to leave before stopping at the warehouse entrance. “Okay, kiddo, I gotta go. It's been fun, though, right? Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you. I'm just guessing since you're being awful quiet. Anyway, be a good boy, finish your homework, and be in bed by nine. And, hey, please tell the big man I said…’hello’.”_

_As soon as he left, Sheila ran towards the entrance and tried to pry it open only to figure out it was locked from the outside. She banged on the door again and again with the hope that after each time her palm hit the metal door, just _maybe_ it would open. Jason drug himself over towards the door trying to console his mother with the words of _‘Batman will come for me’_ and _‘Don't worry, he'll save us’_ when a distant beeping caught his ear. He turned back to see a bomb with a timer strapped to it counting down from 10 and knew that Batman wouldn’t make it in time. With the last ounce of his strength, Jason pushed himself on top of his mother's body to shield her from the blast to come. As the clock reached 5 he thought,_

_4_

_ _‘I'm sorry Bruce.’_ _

_3_

_ _‘I'm sorry….’_ _

_2_

_ _‘Dad.’_ _

_1_

_ _‘I love you.’_ _

_0_

_*BOOM*_

_By this time several people present in the room had been reduced to tears and Robin had been in a near state of a full on panic attack. Dick was speechless, mouth agape, as tears cascaded down his cheeks and his mind raced to make sense of what he had seen. Bruce, he didn’t know what to say, think, or even feel. He had just watched his son die by the hands of his greatest enemy and yet he was as speechless as Dick, and as distraught as Black Canary who had buried her face in her hands to smother her sobs. It wasn't until the next memory faded into view that the heroes and sidekicks came out of their stupor._

_It was dark. That was all Jason saw when he opened his eyes next. It was dark and cramped and he couldn't breathe right. He tried to remain calm and remember what had happened last. The Joker. That was right, he had been caught by the Joker and beaten with a crowbar, and then….and then there was a bomb. _‘Am..am I dead?’_ Jason thought. He tried to speak, to scream out for help but a strangled noise came from his throat instead, as if he hadn't used it in a while. He started to panic, started to hyperventilate. “Bruce!” he choked out as he banged and clawed at the thing obstructing his exit. It felt like wood. _‘Am I in a coffin?’_ Jason’s mind raced with thoughts and unanswered questions as he continued to scratch his way through the wood, his nails snagging in the wood and blood ultimately flowing out of his fingertips. He continued relentlessly, ignoring the screaming pain in his throbbing fingers as his nails were torn harshly off and embedded in the wood covering. “Bruce! Bruce help! Dick! Alfred! Uncle Clark! Somebody, anybody, please help! DAD!!” Jason choked on dirt and tears as he determinedly clawed through the casket and broke through to the world above. As soon as his eyes met the dimly lit vermilion sky, he passed out._

_The memory became muddled a bit and the only thing that could be made of it was that Jason had been found and taken to a hospital for treatment by some passersby and was recognized by Talia Al Ghul. She took him back to her father and Jason was immersed in the Lazarus Pit in an attempt to heal his wounds and traumatized mind. What Talia didn't account for though, was what the Pit would do to him afterwards._

_The Pit was filled with the taunting souls of the dead and once Jason had felt that, he was never the same, something broke inside of him. It drove him damn near mad. The memories blurred together again and they showed Jason cleaning up the streets of Gotham, permanently. He killed the criminals that the Batman wouldn’t. There were snippets of Jason taking on the name Red Hood and fighting his self proclaimed _replacement_ as Robin; Tim Drake, as well as Nightwing, and Batman. He fought Bruce, asking why he hadn't killed the Joker after what he had done to him and if his life had really meant _that_ little to him. He told his family how alone and scared he felt when he first came back. He questioned whether they even thought that he might be alive when his grave was discovered to have been disturbed._

_Bruce had given Jason several explanations as to his reasoning and assured his son that his life had meant the world to him but Jason still wouldn't budge with his feelings on the matter. Jason’s memories revealed that it was only recently that he and Bruce came to a mutual agreement and understanding about his death._

_The link ended with Jason’s most recent memories and everyone waited silently, while letting their new found knowledge sink in, for the older bird to awaken. When Jason did wake, he was pelted with hugs by the whole young justice team, his younger self, and to his dismay, his older brother's younger self. Most of them were crying or just had pained expressions on their faces. Dick was blubbering like a baby._

_“I’m-I'm so s-sorry Jaybird. I'm so sorry all that happened to you.” he continued to cry, wiping his snot on Jason’s brown leather jacket. He tried to pry his idiot brother off of himself but to no avail. He looked around for help and spotted the members of the justice league with solemn yet understanding faces as to what they saw and Bruce just smiled fondly, momentarily letting his composure drop. Jason was about to ask Bruce how he could get back home when a spherical light appeared and gradually expanded, spitting out two figures who landed rather ungracefully in front of Jason._

_“Dickie? Timbo?” Jason called out to the kevlar clad visitors. The taller of the two, everyone could tell was a slightly older Nightwing, while the shorter, they could only go by Jason’s memories and the nickname he was just labeled as and guess it was the third Robin, Tim._

_“Jay?!” older Dick asked, surprised. “Where the hell have you been?” he questioned, running towards Jason seemingly to hug him when he slapped him on the back of the head. Everyone gawked at the event unfolding before them. “We've been looking for you for 12 hours Jaybird. Bruce and Alfred have been worried sick!”_

_“We didn’t know what happened Jay.” Tim started, tears welling in his eyes. He ran and wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist. “When you didn't check in after your mission we went to go see for ourselves and found the place blown to bits save for a machine with a weird glow. And we couldn't find you anywhere, so we went through it. I thought we'd lost you!” Tim buried his face into Jason’s chest and sniffled. Jason ruffled Tom’s hair and rubbed circles on the younger boy’s back. The others noticed how the scene before them was very different from what they had witnessed in Jason’s memories._

_“I'm fine babybird, just got sent into the past that's all.” having said that, Tim and Dick finally noticed that they were surrounded by the familiar faces of people they knew, however they all looked younger. Dick stepped in front of his younger brother’s and smiled his _let-me-handle-this_ smile. _

_“Thank you for being hospitable to my brother. He can be a real handful sometimes.” he said, laughing a bit at the end._

_“Hey!” Jason started_

_“Well it is true Jay.” Tim added._

_“Oh shut your mouth Timmy.” Jason said, faking annoyance at the smaller boy. Bruce inwardly smiled at seeing his three sons, one who he has yet to meet, laugh and get along. The others all thought the same. _

_“Well we should get going, Bruce and Alfred are probably losing their minds over us being gone too.” Dick said, ending the playful bickering between Tim and Jason. With that, Jason turned and expressed his gratitude to the Batman, team and justice league members of that time before walking up to Bruce and pulling him aside momentarily._

_“What’s on your mind Jason?” the older man asked._

_“I know what you're thinking Bruce. And I need you to promise me that you won't change anything.” Bruce stared into Jason’s teal eyes and didn’t respond. Jason sighed. “I know that now that you've seen my memories, you're probably going to go and change some of the things to come or you might even change it without knowing, but I need you to promise me that you will let things come as they will, don't try and alter the flow of fate. What happened to me has made me who I am and you're the one that taught me to own up to my mistakes and misgivings and let them mold me to become a better person.” Now it was Bruce’s turn to sigh. He gave his word and after a brief embrace, Jason turned and followed his brothers through the portal._

_The three arrived a little later at the batcave where Alfred greeted them and hugged Jason telling him that all the stress was bad for his heart. Bruce came down the stairs as Alfred passed him in the entryway. After changing, Dick ushered Tim upstairs to leave the two of them alone. Bruce turned to Jason and bidding Dick and Tim goodnight and clapped his son on the shoulder before drawing him in for a hug._

_“Welcome home Jay.”_

_“I’m home, dad.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I hope young Jason/Robin didn’t come off as too ooc. Also, in regards to the way Jason was brought back, I went by when Superboy Prime altered reality when he was trapped in the Paradise Dimension but I tweaked it a little and instead of Talia using the Pit to restore an amnesiac Jason’s mind, I left him his memories and just had Talia use it to heal his bad memories.
> 
> You can find me here!:  
My twitter is > @RonnieBirdyy  
I also have a tumblr > https://vermillionkitsune.tumblr.com/


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